Peppa Pig Pulls out of Labour Event; Gruffalo Leaning Toward Clegg

By

Iain Martin

Apr 27, 2010 9:49 am GMT

Patrick Hennessy asks if this is the most surreal Labour election campaign ever. It could be. First, the party put a random Elvis impersonator on stage at a rally alongside a baffled looking Gordon Brown. Now Peppa Pig, the popular children’s character, has withdrawn from a Labour event to avoid controversy.

“The animated TV star was due to attend a children’s center today as part of the launch of the party’s manifesto for families. She was to join Yvette Cooper, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and Cabinet Office minister Tessa Jowell on a visit to a Sure Start center – a move which Labour had earlier said it was ‘delighted’ with. But the programme’s distributor, E1 Entertainment, said Peppa Pig would no longer be attending the event, according to the BBC.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘Peppa Pig is a well known fan of Sure Start children’s centers but, in the interests of avoiding any controversy or misunderstanding, we have agreed she should not attend.’ Launched in 2004, Peppa Pig is a British cartoon series aimed at children aged two and above.

It follows five-year-old Peppa and her family and friends including Suzy Sheep and Rebecca Rabbit and won a children’s Bafta in 2005 for best pre-school animation. It is now shown in 180 countries.”

Other leading children’s characters are currently weighing up how to vote in this historic election, I can exclusively reveal.